Spalovač mrtvol - CD (Čte Lukáš Hlavica)

A psychological novel with elements of horror and black satire, which inspired a cult film in 1968 directed by Juraj Herz, starring Rudolf Hrušínský in the lead role. The book was published in 1967 and belongs to the so-called second wave of war literature. The story takes place just before the outbreak of World War II and ends with a narrative leap to 1945. The main character of the story is Karel Kopfrkingl, the father of a middle-class family, a strangely kind oddball fascinated by death and everything associated with it. For many years, he is employed at a crematorium in Prague as a "corpse burner." Based on a distorted interpretation of Tibetan philosophy, he even perceives killing as assistance on the path to paradise, to a return to the Light and eternal peace. The book "The Corpse Burner" is a masterful insight into the mental processes of a manipulated and self-manipulated person, essentially a limited weakling, who gradually and almost imperceptibly transforms into a human monstrosity. In this case, the transformation of the main character's soul "fortunately" results in psychiatric illness. However, the main motif of the novel is primarily the issue of racial hatred and collective guilt. The work is remarkable both intellectually and formally, using exclusively literary language even in direct speech, the construction of the plot, frequent symbolism...